Inbred sunflower (Helianthus annuus) line designated 503A/B

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to an inbred sunflower line, designated 503A/B. The invention relates to the seeds of inbred sunflower line 503A/B, to the plants of inbred sunflower line 503A/B and to the methods for producing a sunflower plant, either inbred or hybrid, by crossing the inbred line 503A/B with itself or another sunflower line. The invention further relates to methods for producing a sunflower plant containing in its genetic material one or more transgenes and to the transgenic plants produced by that method and to methods for producing other inbred sunflower lines derived from the inbred 503A/B.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/301,953, filed Feb. 5, 2010, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety by this reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention is in the field of sunflower breeding. Specifically the present invention relates to new and distinctive sunflower cultivar, designated 503A/B.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The cultivated sunflower (Helianthus annus L.) is a major worldwide source of vegetable oil. In the United States, approximately 4 million acres are planted in sunflowers annually, primarily in the Dakotas and Minnesota.

Field crops are bred through techniques that take advantage of the plant's method of pollination. A plant is self-pollinated if pollen from one flower is transferred to the same or another flower of the same plant. A plant is cross-pollinated if the pollen comes from a flower on a different plant.

Plants that have been self-pollinated and selected for type for many generations become homozygous at almost all gene loci and produce a uniform population of true breeding progeny. A cross between two different homozygous lines produces a uniform population of hybrid plants that may be heterozygous for many gene loci. A cross of two plants each heterozygous for many gene loci. A cross of two plants each heterozygous at a number of gene loci will produce a population of hybrid plants that differ genetically and will not be uniform.

There are numerous steps in the development of any novel, desirable plant germplasm. Plant breeding begins with the analysis and definition of problems and weaknesses of the current germplasm, the establishment of program goals, and the definition of specific breeding objectives. The next step is selection of germplasm that possess the traits to meet the program goals. The goal is to combine in a single variety an improved combination of desirable traits from the parental germplasm. These important traits may include higher seed yield, resistance to diseases and insects, resistance to herbicides, better stems and roots, tolerance to drought and heat, and better agronomic quality.

Choice of breeding or selection methods depends on the mode of plant reproduction, the heritability of the trait(s) being improved, and the type of cultivar used commercially (e.g., F₁ hybrid cultivar, pureline cultivar, etc.). For highly heritable traits, a choice of superior individual plants evaluated at a single location will be effective, whereas for traits with low heritability, selection should be based on mean values obtained from replicated evaluations of families of related plants. Popular selection methods commonly include pedigree selection, modified pedigree selection, mass selection, and recurrent selection.

The complexity of inheritance influences choice of the breeding method. Backcross breeding is used to transfer one or a few favorable genes for a highly heritable trait into a desirable cultivar. This approach has been used extensively for breeding disease-resistant cultivars. Various recurrent selection techniques are used to improve quantitatively inherited traits controlled by numerous genes. The use of recurrent selection in self-pollinating crops depends on the ease of pollination, the frequency of successful hybrids from each pollination, and the number of hybrid offspring from each successful cross.

Each breeding program should include a periodic, objective evaluation of the efficiency of the breeding procedure. Evaluation criteria vary depending on the goal and objectives, but should include gain from selection per year based on comparisons to an appropriate standard, overall value of the advanced breeding lines, and number of successful cultivars produced per unit of input (e.g., per year, per dollar expended, etc.).

Sunflower (Helianthus annus L.), can be bred by both self-pollination and cross-pollination techniques. The sunflower head (inflorescence) usually is composed of about 1,000 to 2,000 individual disk flowers joined to a common base (receptacle). The flowers around the circumference are ligulate ray flowers with neither stamens nor pistil. The remaining flowers are hermaphroditic and protandrous disk flowers.

Natural pollination of sunflower occurs when flowering starts with the appearance of a tube partly exerted from the sympetalous corolla. The tube is formed by the finve syngenesious anthers, and pollen is released on the inner surface of the tube. The style lengthens rapidly and forces the stigma through the tube. The two lobes of the stigma open outward and are receptive to pollen but out of reach of their own pollen initially. Although this largely prevents self-pollination of individual flowers, flowers are exposed to pollen from other flowers on the same head by insects, wind and gravity.

Promising advanced breeding lines are thoroughly tested and compared to appropriate standards in environments representative of the commercial target area(s) for three or more years. The best lines are candidates for new commercial cultivars; those still deficient in a few traits may be used as parents to produce new populations for further selection.

These processes, which lead to the final step of marketing and distribution, usually take from eight to 12 years from the time the first cross is made. Therefore, development of new cultivars is a time-consuming process that requires precise forward planning, efficient use of resources, and a minimum of changes in direction.

A difficult task is the identification of individuals that are genetically superior because, for most traits, the true genotypic value is masked by other confounding plant traits or environmental factors. One method of identifying a superior plant is to observe its performance relative to other experimental plants and to a widely grown standard cultivar. If a single observation is inconclusive, replicated observations provide a better estimate of its genetic worth.

The goal of plant breeding is to develop new, unique and superior sunflower cultivars and hybrids. The breeder initially selects and crosses two or more parental lines, followed by repeated selfing and selection, producing many new genetic combinations. The breeder can theoretically generate billions of different genetic combinations via crossing, selfing and mutations. The breeder has no direct control at the cellular level. Therefore, two breeders will never develop the same line, or even very similar lines, having the same sunflower traits.

Each year, the plant breeder selects the germplasm to advance to the next generation. This germplasm is grown under unique and different geographical, climatic and soil conditions and further selections are then made, during and at the end of the growing season. The cultivars which are developed are unpredictable. This unpredictability is due to the breeder's selection, which occurs in unique environments, with no control at the DNA level (using conventional breeding procedures), and with millions of different possible genetic combinations being generated. A breeder of ordinary skill in the art cannot predict the final resulting lines he develops, except possibly in a very gross and general fashion. The same breeder cannot produce the same cultivar twice by using the exact same original parents and the same selection techniques. This unpredictability results in the expenditure of large amounts of research monies to develop superior new sunflower cultivars.

The development of new sunflower cultivars requires the development and selection of sunflower varieties, the crossing of these varieties, and selection of superior hybrid crosses. The hybrid seed is produced by manual crosses between selected male-fertile parents or by using male sterility systems. These hybrids are selected for certain single gene traits such as pod color, flower color, pubescence color, or herbicide resistance which indicate that the seed is truly a hybrid. Additional data on parental lines, as well as the phenotype of the hybrid, influence the breeder's decision whether to continue with the specific hybrid cross.

Pedigree breeding and recurrent selection breeding methods are used to develop cultivars from breeding populations. Breeding programs combine desirable traits from two or more cultivars or various broad-based sources into breeding pools from which cultivars are developed by selfing and selection desired phenotypes. The new cultivars are evaluated to determine which have commercial potential.

Pedigree breeding is used commonly for the improvement of self-pollinating crops. Two parents which possess favorable, complementary traits are crossed to produce an F₁. An F₂ population is produced by selfing one or several F₁'s. Selection of the best individuals may begin in the F₂ population; then, beginning in the F₃, the best individuals in the best families are selected. Replicated testing of families can begin in the F₄ generation to improve the effectiveness of selection for traits with low heritability. At an advanced stage of inbreeding (i.e., F₆ and F₇), the best lines or mixtures of phenotypically similar lines are tested for potential release as new cultivars.

Mass and recurrent selection can be used to improve populations of either self- or cross-pollinating crops. A genetically variable population of heterozygous individuals is either identified or created by intercrossing several different parents. The best plants are selected based on individual superiority, outstanding progeny, or excellent combining ability. The selected plants are intercrossed to produce a new population in which further cycles of selection are continued.

Backcross breeding has been used to transfer genes for simply inherited highly heritable trait into a desirable homozygous cultivar or inbred line which is the recurrent parent. The source of the trait to be transferred is called the donor parent. The resulting plant is expected to have the attributes of the recurrent parent (e.g., cultivar) and the desirable trait transferred from the donor parent. After the initial cross, individuals possessing the phenotype of the donor parent are selected and repeatedly crossed (backcrossed) to the recurrent parent. The resulting plant is expected to have the attributes of the recurrent parent (e.g., cultivar) and the desirable trait transferred from the donor parent.

The single-seed descent procedure in the strict sense refers to planting a segregating population, harvesting a sample of one seed per plant, and using the one-seed sample to plant the next generation. When the population has been advanced from the F₂ to the desired level of inbreeding, the plants from which lines are derived will each trace to different F₂ individuals. The number of plants in a population declines each generation due to failure of some seeds to germinate or some plants to produce at least one seed. As a result, not all of the F₂ plants originally sampled in the population will be represented by a progeny when generation advance is completed.

In a multiple-seed procedure, sunflower breeders commonly harvest seeds from each plant in a population and thresh them together to form a bulk. Part of the bulk is used to plant the next generation and part is put in reserve. The procedure has been referred to as modified single-seed descent.

The multiple-seed procedure has been used to save labor at harvest. It is considerably faster to remove seeds with a machine than to remove one seed from each by hand for the single-seed procedure. The multiple-seed procedure also makes it possible to plant the same number of seeds of a population each generation of inbreeding. Enough seeds are harvested to make up for those plants that did not germinate or produce seed.

Descriptions of other breeding methods that are commonly used for different traits and crops can be found in one of several reference books (e.g., Allard, 1960; Simmonds, 1979; Sneep et al., 1979; Fehr, 1987), the contents of which are incorporated herein by this reference.

Proper testing should detect any major faults and establish the level of superiority or improvement over current cultivars. In addition to showing superior performance, there must be a demand for a new cultivar that is compatible with industry standards or which creates a new market. The introduction of a new cultivar can incur additional costs to the seed producer, the grower, processor and consumer due to special advertising and marketing, altered seed and commercial production practices, and new product utilization. The testing preceding release of a new cultivar should take into consideration research and development costs as well as technical superiority of the final cultivar. For seed-propagated cultivars, it must be feasible to produce seed easily and economically.

Once the inbred plants that give the best hybrid performance have been identified, the hybrid seed can be reproduced indefinitely as long as the homogeneity of the inbred parent is maintained. A single-cross hybrid is produced when two inbred lines are crossed to produce the F1 progeny. A double-cross hybrid is produced from four inbred lines crossed in pairs (A×B and C×D) and then the two F1 hybrids are crossed again (A×B)×(C×D). Much of the hybrid vigor exhibited by F1 hybrids is lost in the next generation (F2). Consequently, seed from hybrid varieties is not used for planting stock.

The very rapid expansion over the last decade of acreage planted with sunflower in the United States is due in part to several important developments in the field of sunflower breeding and varietal improvement. On significant development was the discovery of cytoplasmic male sterility and genes for fertility restoration, a discovery that allowed the production of hybrid sunflowers. The hybrids thus produced were introduced during the early 1970's. A description of cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) and genetic fertility restoration in sunflowers is presented by Fick, “Breeding and Genetics,” in Sunflower Science and Technology 279-338 (J. F. Carter ed. 1978), the contents of which are incorporated herein by this reference.

A reliable method of controlling male fertility in plants offers the opportunity for improved plant breeding. This is especially true for development of sunflower hybrids, which relies upon some sort of male sterility system. Two types of male sterility, genetic and cytoplasmic, have been found in sunflower. The use of male sterility in plant breeding has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,956,156, the contents of which are incorporated herein by this reference.

Sunflower, Helianthus annus L., is an important and valuable field crop. Thus, a continuing goal of plant breeders is to develop stable, high yielding sunflower cultivars that are agronomically sound. A current goal is to maximize the amount of grain produced on the land used and to supply food for both animals and humans. To accomplish this goal, the sunflower breeder must select and develop sunflower plants that have traits that result in superior cultivars.

Weed species have long been a problem in cultivated fields. Although once a labor intensive operation, weed control has been made easier by the availability of efficient weed killing chemical herbicides. The wide-spread use of herbicides, along with improved crop varieties and fertilizers, has made a significant contribution to the “green revolution” in agriculture. Not all herbicides are capable of selectively targeting the undesirable plants over crop plants, as well as being non-toxic to animals. Often it is necessary to settle for compounds which are simply less toxic to crop plants than to weeds. Particularly useful herbicides are those that have a broad spectrum of herbicidal activity. Unfortunately, broad spectrum herbicides typically have deleterious effect on crop plants exposed to the herbicide. As such the development of herbicide resistant crop plants has become a major focus of agricultural research.

On particular broad spectrum herbicide that has been investigated is imidazolinone. The imidazolinone herbicides include: imazapyr, imazapic, imazethapyr, imazamox, imazamethabenz, and imazaquin. These herbicides control weeds by disrupting the activity of the enzyme acetohydroxyacid synthase (AHAS) also called acetolactate synthase (ALS). AHAS is a critical enzyme for the biosynthesis of branched chain amino acids in plants, as is described in Tan et al. (2005), Imidazolinone-tolerant crops: history, current status, and future, Pest Management Science, vol. 61: pp 246-257, the contents of which are incorporated herein by this reference. There are several variant AHAS genes which have conferred imidazolinone tolerance and have been used to create various imidazolinone-tolerant crops, as has been described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,767,361, and 4,761,373, which are both incorporated herein by this reference. Mutations in the AHAS coding regions alter the enzyme structure and prevent inhibition of the enzyme by the herbicide. Tolerance to broad spectrum herbicides provides an economically viable method to control a wide range of weeds in domesticated crops.

Disease in plants is caused by biotic and abiotic causes. Biotic causes of disease include fungi, viruses, bacteria, and nematodes. Of these, fungi are the most frequent causative agent of disease in plants. The fungus causing downy mildew of cultivated sunflowers, also known as Plasmopara halstedii is a major pathogen affecting domesticated sunflower crops. The various hosts for downy mildew have been described in E. E. Leppik (1966) Origin and specialization of Plasmopara halstedii complex on Compositae. FAO Plant Protection Bulletin 14, 72-76, and N. S. Novotel'nova (1966) [Downy mildew of sunflower], 150 pp. Nauka, Moscow, Russia, the contents of which are incorporated herein by this reference. Downy mildew is a soil-borne pathogen, inoculating young sunflower seedlings primarily with its oospores. There is also the chance for wind-borne infection which is spread via sporangia, or can be seed-borne from infected plants, but usually only leads to limited localized infection.

The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations related therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following embodiments and aspects thereof are described in conjunction with systems, tools and methods which are meant to be exemplary and illustrative, not limiting in scope. In various embodiments, one or more of the above-described problems have been reduced or eliminated, while other embodiments are directed to other improvements.

According to the invention, there is provided a novel inbred sunflower line, designated 503A/B. Particular embodiments of the invention relate to the seeds of inbred sunflower line 503A/B, to the plants of inbred sunflower line 503A/B and to methods for producing a sunflower plant produced by crossing the inbred line 503A/B with itself or another sunflower line, and to methods for producing a sunflower plant containing in its genetic material one or more transgenes and to the transgenic sunflower plants produced by that method. Other embodiments relate to methods for producing other inbred sunflower lines derived from inbred sunflower 503A/B and to the inbred sunflower lines derived by the use of those methods. Additional embodiments of the invention further relate to hybrid sunflower seeds and plants produced by crossing the inbred line 503A/B with another sunflower line.

The inbred sunflower plant of the invention may further comprise, or have, a cytoplasmic factor that is capable of conferring male sterility. Parts of the sunflower plant of the present invention are also provided, such as, e.g., pollen obtained from an inbred plant and an ovule of the inbred plant.

In another aspect, the present invention provides regenerable cells for use in tissue culture or inbred sunflower plant 503A/B. The tissue culture can be capable of regenerating plants having the physiological and morphological characteristics of the foregoing inbred sunflower plant. The regenerable cells in such tissue cultures can be embryos, pollen, ovules, leaves, stems, cortex, pith, involucral bracts, ray flowers, disk flowers, pappi, achenes, nectarines, interfloral bracts, receptacle, trichomes stigma, anther, style, filament, calyx, pericarp, seed coat, endosperm, embryo, roots, root tips, and seeds. Additionally, the present invention provides sunflower plants regenerated from the tissue cultures of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the description and tables which follow, a number of terms are used. In order to provide a clear and consistent understanding of the specification and claims, including the scope to be given such terms, the following definitions are provided:

Allele. Allele is any of one or more alternative forms of a gene, all of which alleles relate to one trait or characteristic. In a diploid cell or organism, the two alleles of a given gene occupy corresponding loci on a pair of homologous chromosomes.

Backcrossing. Backcrossing is a process in which a breeder repeatedly crosses hybrid progeny back to one of the parents, for example, a first generation hybrid F₁ with one of the parental genotypes of the F₁ hybrid.

Cytoplasmic Male Sterile (CMS) Plant or Inbred Line. A sunflower line that produces no viable pollen is called male sterile. Male sterility is inherited maternally, i.e., the male sterile plant is used as the female parent in a cross with pollen from another sunflower. CMS lines are produced by crossing a maintainer line with a sunflower plant with the cytoplasmic male sterility trait and then backcrossing to the maintainer line until a male sterile line that is homologous to the maintainer line in all other respects is developed. CMS lines are also referred to as female lines.

Elite sunflower. A sunflower cultivar which has been stabilized for certain commercially important agronomic traits comprising a stabilized yield of about 100% or greater relative to the yield of check varieties in the same growing location growing at the same time and under the same conditions. In one embodiment, “elite sunflower” means a sunflower cultivar stabilized for certain commercially important agronomic traits comprising a stabilized yield of 110% or greater relative to the yield of check varieties in the same growing location growing at the same time and under the same conditions. In another embodiment, “elite sunflower” means a sunflower cultivar stabilized for certain commercially important agronomic traits comprising a stabilized yield of 115% or greater relative to the yield of check varieties in the same growing location growing at the same time and under the same conditions.

Elite sunflower cultivar. A sunflower cultivar, per se, which has been sold commercially.

Elite sunflower parent cultivar. A sunflower cultivar which is the parent cultivar of a canola hybrid that has been commercially sold.

Embryo. The embryo is the small plant contained within a mature seed.

FAME analysis. Fatty Acid Methyl Ester analysis is a method that allows for accurate quantification of the fatty acids that make up complex lipid classes.

Glucosinolates. These are measured in micromoles (μm) of total alipathic glucosinolates per gram of air-dried oil-free meal. The level of glucosinolates is somewhat influenced by the sulfur fertility of the soil, but is also controlled by the genetic makeup of each variety and thus can be useful in characterizing varieties.

Imidazolinone resistance (Imi). Resistance and/or tolerance is conferred by one or more genes which alter acetolactate synthase (ALS), also known as acetohydroxy acid synthase (AHAS) allowing the enzyme to resist the action of imidazolinone.

Leaf blade color. The color of the leaf blades is variety specific and can range from light to medium dark green to blue green.

Leaf development of lobes. The leaves on the upper portion of the stem can show varying degrees of development of lobes which are disconnected from one another along the petiole of the leaf. The degree of lobing is variety specific and can range from absent (no lobes)/weak through very strong (abundant lobes).

Leaf indentation of margin. The leaves on the upper portion of the stem can also show varying degrees of serration along the leaf margins. The degree of serration or indentation of the leaf margins can vary from absent (smooth margin)/weak to strong (heavy saw-tooth like margin).

Leaf surface. The leaf surface can also be used to distinguish between varieties. The surface can be smooth or rugose (lumpy) with varying degrees between the two extremes.

Maturity or Date to Maturity. The maturity of a variety is measured as the number of days between planting and physiological maturity. This is useful trait in distinguishing varieties relative to one another.

Mutagenesis. Mutagenesis refers to mutagenesis of a plant or plant part with a mutagen (e.g., a chemical or physical agent that increases the frequency of mutations in a target plant or plant part). By way of non-limiting example, the double chemical mutagenesis technique of Konzak, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,696,294 the contents of which are incorporated herein by this reference, can be used to induce mutant alleles in endogenous plant genes.

Percent linolenic acid. Percent oil of the seed that is linolenic acid.

Oil content. This is measured as percent of the whole dried seed and is characteristic of different varieties. It can be determined using various analytical techniques such as NMR, NIR, and Soxhlet extraction.

Percent oleic acid (OLE). Percent oil of the seed that is oleic acid.

Percentage of total fatty acids. This is determined by extracting a sample of oil from seed, producing the methyl esters of fatty acids present in that oil sample and analyzing the proportions of the various fatty acids in the sample using gas chromatography. The fatty acid composition can also be a distinguishing characteristic of a variety.

Petal color. The petal color on the first day a flower opens can be a distinguishing characteristic for a variety. It can be white, varying shades of yellow or orange.

Plant height. This is the height of the plant at the end of flowering if the floral branches are extended upright (i.e., not lodged). This varies from variety to variety and although it can be influenced by environment, relative comparisons between varieties grown side by side are useful for variety identification.

Protein content. This is measured as percent of whole dried seed and is characteristic of different varieties. This can be determined using various analytical techniques such as NIR and Kjeldahl.

Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL). Quantitative trait loci (QTL) refer to genetic loci that control to some degree numerically representable traits that are usually continuously distributed.

Regeneration. Regeneration refers to the development of a plant from tissue culture.

Restorer Line. A line possessing the gene or genes to restore male fertility or viable pollen to a sunflower hybrid or inbred line and progeny having a maternal cytoplasm that conditions male sterility.

Single Gene Converted (Conversion). Single gene converted (conversion) plant refers to plants which are developed by a plant breeding technique called backcrossing, or via genetic engineering, wherein essentially all of the desired morphological and physiological characteristics of a variety are recovered in addition to the single gene transferred into the variety via the backcrossing technique or via genetic engineering.

Stabilized. Reproducibly passed from one generation to the next generation of inbred plants of same variety.

Total Saturated (TOTSAT). Total percent oil of the seed of the saturated fats in the oil including C12:0, C14:0, C16:0, C18:0, C20:0, C22:0 and C24.0.

Mean Yield. Mean yield of all canola entries grown at a given location.

Yield. Greater than 10% above the mean yield across 10 or more locations.

Check Average. Average for one or more checks in a given location.

Some of the criteria used to select in various generations include: seed yield, lodging resistance, emergence, disease tolerance, maturity, late season plant intactness, plant height and shattering resistance.

The cultivar has shown uniformity and stability, as described in the following variety description information. It has been self-pollinated a sufficient number of generations with careful attention to uniformity of plant type. The cultivar has been increased with continued observation for uniformity.

Seed from sunflower line 503A/B has been deposited with the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), 12301 Parklaw Drive, Rockville, Md., USA 20852 and bearing ATCC Accession Number PTA-10098. Inbred sunflower line 503A/B is an oil type sunflower male line with superior characteristics, and provides an excellent parental line in crosses for producing first generation (F₁) hybrid sunflower.

Inbred sunflower line 503A/B has the following morphologic and other characteristics, as described in Table 1.

TABLE 1 Characteristic Value CLASS (1 = Oil Type, or 2 = Confectionery, non-oil type) 1 NO. OF DAYS TO FLOWERING 65 NO. OF DAYS TO MATURITY 95 PLANT HEIGHT AT MATURITY (cm) 76 NUMBER OF LEAVES AT FLOWERING 27 STEM BRANCHING 1 = No Branching, 2 = Basal Branching, 3 = Top Branching 1 (with central head), and 4 = Fully Branched (without central head). INTERNODE LENGTH AT FLOWERING (cm) 2.3 STEM COLOR OF GROWING POINT (1 = Green or 2 = Yellow) 1 DEPTH OF LEAF MARGIN INDENTATIONS (1 = shallow, 2 = intermediate, or 2 3 = deep) LEAF APEX (1 = acuminate or 2 = other) 1 LEAF ATTITUDE (1 = erect, 2 = ascending, 3 = horizontal or 4 = descending) 2 LEAF BASE 1 = auriculate, 2 = truncate, 3 = acute, 4 = rounded, or 5 = cordate 1 LEAF BLADE LENGTH (cm) 20. LEAF BLADE WIDTH (cm) 21 LEAF COLOR (1 = light green, 2 = green, 3 = dark green, or 4 = brown) 2 LEAF MARGIN (1 = entire, 2 = crenate, or 3 = serrate) 2 LEAF MARGIN COLOR (1 = green or 2 = yellow) 1 LEAF SHAPE (1 = cordate, 2 = lanceolate, 3 = triangular, or 4 = round) 1 LEAF SURFACE (1 = smooth, 2 = crinkled (ridged) or 3 = other) 2 LEAF WIDTH:LENGTH RATIO (1 = narrower than long, 2 = equal or 3 = wider than long) 3 RAY FLOWERS (presence or absence) Present RAY FLOWER COLOR (1 = yellow, 2 = sulfur yellow, 3 = orange yellow or 4 = other) 1 DISK FLOWER COLOR (1 = yellow, 2 = red, or 3 = purple) 1 ANTHOCYANIN IN STIGMAS (presence or absence) PAPPI COLOR (1 = green or 2 = rust (red)) POLLEN COLOR (1 = white (colorless) or 2 = yellow) 2 RAY LENGTH (mm) RAY WIDTH (mm) HEAD ATTITUDE (1 = vertical (erect), 2 = ascending, 3 = horizontal, or 1 4 = descending) HEAD DIAMETER (cm) 20. HEAD RECEPTACLE SHAPE (1 = flat, 2 = convex, or 3 = concave) NO. OF SEEDS PER HEAD OUTER PERICARP (1 = clear, 2 = striped black, 3 = nearly solid black) 3 MIDDLE PERICARP (1 = white or 2 = solid purple) 1 INNER PERICARP (1 = no color or 2 = brownish black) 1 SEED LENGTH (mm) 10 SEED MOTTLING (1 = absent or 2 = present) 1 SEED SHAPE (1 = ovate, 2 = obovate (shield), 3 = narrowly obovate, 4 = oblong or 2 5 = elliptic) SEED SHAPE (CROSS SECTION) (1 = not curved or 2 = curved) 2 SEED SIZE (% Held on 7.9 mm (20/64) Round-hole Screen) 0 SEED STRIPES (1 = absent, 2 = even black and white stripes, 3 = broad black and 4 narrow white stripes, 4 = black with narrow dark-grey striping or 5 = other) SEED WEIGHT (gm) 49.1/1000 sds BROOM RAPE (1 = susceptible, or 2 = resistant) 1 CHARCOAL ROT (1 = susceptible, or 2 = resistant) Not tested DOWNY MILDEW (1 = susceptible, or 2 = resistant) 1 EUROPEAN SUNFLOWER MOTH (1 = susceptible, or 2 = resistant) Not tested GRAY-MOLD BLIGHT (1 = susceptible, or 2 = resistant) Not tested N. AMERICAN HEAD MOTH (1 = susceptible, or 2 = resistant) Not tested RUST (1 = susceptible, or 2 = resistant) Not tested SCLEROTINIA WILT (1 = susceptible, or 2 = resistant) Not tested VERTICILLIUM WILT (1 = susceptible, or 2 = resistant) Not tested WHITE BLISTER RUST (1 = susceptible, or 2 = resistant) Not tested HULL (%) Not tested LINOLEIC ACID (%) OIL (%) 41.1 OLEIC ACID (%) 86.1 PALMITIC ACID (%) 4.8 STEARIC ACID (%) 5.9 TOTAL SATURATES (%) The yield of inbred line s671 (503A X 319R) is 2399 kg/ha.

This invention is also direct to methods for producing a sunflower plant by crossing a first parent sunflower plant with a second parent sunflower plant, wherein the first or seconds sunflower plant is the inbred sunflower plant from the line 503A/B. Further, both first and second parent sunflower plants may be from the inbred line 503A/B. Therefore, any methods using the inbred sunflower line 503A/B are part of this invention: selfing, backcrosses, hybrid breeding, and crosses to populations. Any plants produced using inbred sunflower line 503A/B as a parent are within the scope of this invention. Advantageously, the inbred sunflower line is used in crosses with other sunflower varieties to produce first generation (F₁) sunflower hybrid seed and plants with superior characteristics.

503A/B has seeds of approximately 40-45% oil content (at 10% moisture basis) with 86-90% oleic acid (18:1), and a total saturated fatty acid content of approximately 7.0-8.5%.

Some of the criteria used to select plants in various generations include: seed yield, maturity, plant height, uniformity of plant type, disease and insect resistance, and large seed size. During the development of the line, crosses were made to inbred testers for the purpose of estimating the line's general and specific combining ability. The inbred was evaluated further as a line and in numerous combinations across the Sunflower Belt. The inbred has proven to have a very good combining ability in hybrid combinations.

503A/B is an inbred sunflower line that was developed from the cross of 500B(1)/68204B through traditional plant breeding backcross methodology. The population cross was designated 500B[1]/68204B and the root line derivation is 500B[1]/68204B-5-5-6-1-2-1-BK. Inbred 503A/B appears stable and uniform after one generation of backcrossing and has exhibited commercial value as a parent of short stature sunflower hybrids in field evaluations. This inbred has potential commercial value as a parent of sunflower hybrids in field evaluations. The most advanced hybrids with this line as a parent are s671 (503A/319R), s674 (503A/318R), and s878 (503A/222R).

503A/B is a high oleic oil seed dwarf line. It contributes larger seed size and increased seed length relative to previously developed confection restorers. In addition, seed color and standability of hybrids using 503A/B is improved. It is a group 4 maturing inbred of medium tall plant height with good pollen production for use in hybrid production fields. 503A/B has shown good general combining ability and yield stability in various hybrid combinations under a wide spectrum of environments. It has been observed to be broadly adapted, showing good performance in Argentina, and all sunflower production areas of the United States.

The inbred has shown uniformity and stability within the limits of environmental influence for all of the traits. The inbred has been self-pollinated and a sufficient number of generations, with careful attention to uniformity of plant type to ensure homozygosity and phenotypic stability necessary to use in commercial production. The line has been increased both by hand and sibbed in isolated fields with continued observations for uniformity. No variant traits have been observed or are expected in 503A/B.

Expression Vectors for Sunflower Transformation: Marker Genes

Expression vectors include at least one genetic marker, operably linked to a regulatory element (a promoter, for example) that allows transformed cells containing the marker to be either recovered by negative selection, i.e., inhibiting growth of cells that do not contain the selectable marker gene, or by positive selection, i.e., screening for the product encoded by the genetic marker. Many commonly used selectable marker genes for plant transformation are well known in the transformation arts, and include, for example, genes that code for enzymes that metabolically detoxify a selective chemical agent which may be an antibiotic or an herbicide, or genes that encode an altered target which is insensitive to the inhibitor. A few positive selection methods are also known in the art.

One commonly used selectable marker gene for plant transformation is the neomycin phosphotransferase II (nptII) gene under the control of plant regulatory signals which confers resistance to kanamycin. Fraley et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 80:4803 (1983). Another commonly used selectable marker gene is the hygromycin phosphotransferase gene which confers resistance to the antibiotic hygromycin. Vanden Elzen et al., Plant Mol. Biol., 5:299 (1985).

Additional selectable marker genes of bacterial origin that confer resistance to antibiotics include gentamycin acetyl transferase, streptomycin phosphotransferase, aminoglycoside-3′-adenyl transferase and the bleomycin resistance determinant Hayford et al., Plant Physiol. 86:1216 (1988); Jones et al., Mol. Gen. Genet., 210:86 (1987); Svab et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 14:197 (1990); Hille et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 7:171 (1986). Other selectable marker genes confer resistance to herbicides such as glyphosate, glufosinate, or bromoxynil. Comai et al., Nature 317:741-744 (1985); Gordon-Kamm et al., Plant Cell 2:603-618 (1990); and Stalker et al., Science 242:419-423 (1988).

Other selectable marker genes for plant transformation are not of bacterial origin. These genes include, for example, mouse dihydrofolate reductase, plant 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase and plant acetolactate synthase. Eichholtz et al., Somatic Cell Mol. Genet. 13:67 (1987); Shah et al., Science 233:478 (1986); Charest et al., Plant Cell Rep. 8:643 (1990).

Another class of marker genes for plant transformation requires screening of presumptively transformed plant cells rather than direct genetic selection of transformed cells for resistance to a toxic substance, such as an antibiotic. These genes are particularly useful to quantify or visualize the spatial pattern of expression of a gene in specific tissues and are frequently referred to as reporter genes because they can be fused to a gene or gene regulatory sequence for the investigation of gene expression. Commonly used genes for screening presumptively transformed cells include β-glucuronidase (GUS), β-galactosidase, luciferase and chloramphenicol acetyltransferase. R. A. Jefferson, Plant Mol. Biol. Rep. 5:387 (1987); Teeri et al., EMBO J. 8:343 (1989); Koncz et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 84:131 (1987); DeBlock et al., EMBO J. 3:1681 (1984).

Recently, in vivo methods for visualizing GUS activity that do not require destruction of plant tissue have been made available. Molecular Probes publication 2908, Imagene, T. M. Green, p. 1-4 (1993) and Naleway et al., J. Cell Biol. 115:151a (1991). However, these in vivo methods for visualizing GUS activity have not proven useful for recovery of transformed cells because of low sensitivity, high fluorescent backgrounds and limitations associated with the use of luciferase genes as selectable markers.

More recently, a gene encoding Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) has been utilized as a marker for gene expression in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Chalfie et al., Science 263:802 (1994). GFP and mutants of GFP may be used as screenable markers.

Expression Vectors for Sunflower Transformation: Promoters

Genes included in expression vectors must be driven by a nucleotide sequence comprising a regulatory element, for example, a promoter. Several types of promoters are now well known in the transformation arts, as are other regulatory elements that can be used alone or in combination with promoters.

As used herein, “promoter” includes reference to a region of DNA upstream from the start of transcription and involved in recognition and binding of RNA polymerase and other proteins to initiate transcription. A “plant promoter” is a promoter capable of initiating transcription in plant cells. Examples of promoters under developmental control include promoters that preferentially initiate transcription in certain tissues, such as leaves, roots, seeds, fibers, xylem vessels, tracheids, or sclerenchyma. Such promoters are referred to as “tissue-preferred.” Promoters which initiate transcription only in certain tissues are referred to as “tissue-specific.” A “cell type” specific promoter primarily drives expression in certain cell types in one or more organs, for example, vascular cells in roots or leaves. An “inducible” promoter is a promoter which is under environmental control. Examples of environmental conditions that may effect transcription by inducible promoters include anaerobic conditions or the presence of light. Tissue-specific, tissue-preferred, cell type specific, and inducible promoters constitute the class of “non-constitutive” promoters. A “constitutive” promoter is a promoter which is active under most environmental conditions.

A. Inducible Promoters

An inducible promoter is operably linked to a gene for expression in sunflower. Optionally, the inducible promoter is operably linked to a nucleotide sequence encoding a signal sequence which is operably linked to a gene for expression in sunflower. With an inducible promoter, the rate of transcription increases in response to an inducing agent.

Any inducible promoter can be used in the instant invention. See Ward et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 22:361-366 (1993). Exemplary inducible promoters include, but are not limited to, that from the ACEI system which responds to copper (Mett et al., PNAS 90:4567-4571 (1993)); In2 gene from maize which responds to benzenesulfonamide herbicide safeners (Hershey et al., Mol. Gen. Genetics 227:229-237 (1991); and Gatz et al., Mol. Gen. Genetics 243:32-38 (1994)) or Tet repressor from Tn10 (Gatz et al., Mol. Gen. Genetics 227:229-237 (1991)). A particularly preferred inducible promoter is a promoter that responds to an inducing agent to which plants do not normally respond. An exemplary inducible promoter is the inducible promoter from a steroid hormone gene, the transcriptional activity of which is induced by a glucocorticosteroid hormone. Schena et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 88:0421 (1991).

B. Constitutive Promoters

A constitutive promoter is operably linked to a gene for expression in sunflower or the constitutive promoter is operably linked to a nucleotide sequence encoding a signal sequence which is operably linked to a gene for expression in sunflower.

Many different constitutive promoters can be utilized in the instant invention. Exemplary constitutive promoters include, but are not limited to, the promoters from plant viruses such as the 35S promoter from CaMV (Odell et al., Nature 313:810-812 (1985)) and the promoters from such genes as rice actin (McElroy et al., Plant Cell 2:163-171 (1990)); ubiquitin (Christensen et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 12:619-632 (1989); and Christensen et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 18:675-689 (1992)); pEMU (Last et al., Theor. Appl. Genet. 81:581-588 (1991)); MAS (Velten et al., EMBO J. 3:2723-2730 (1984)) and maize H3 histone (Lepetit et al., Mol. Gen. Genetics 231:276-285 (1992); and Atanassova et al., Plant Journal 2 (3):291-300 (1992)).

C. Tissue-Specific or Tissue-Preferred Promoters

A tissue-specific promoter is operably linked to a gene for expression in sunflower. Optionally, the tissue-specific promoter is operably linked to a nucleotide sequence encoding a signal sequence which is operably linked to a gene for expression in sunflower. Plants transformed with a gene of interest operably linked to a tissue-specific promoter produce the protein product of the transgene exclusively, or preferentially, in a specific tissue.

Any tissue-specific or tissue-preferred promoter can be utilized in the instant invention. Exemplary tissue-specific or tissue-preferred promoters include, but are not limited to, a root-preferred promoter—such as that from the phaseolin gene (Murai et al., Science 23:476-482 (1983); and Sengupta-Gopalan et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 82:3320-3324 (1985)); a leaf-specific and light-induced promoter such as that from cab or rubisco (Simpson et al., EMBO J. 4(11):2723-2729 (1985); and Timko et al., Nature 318:579-582 (1985)); an anther-specific promoter such as that from LAT52 (Twell et al., Mol. Gen. Genetics 217:240-245 (1989)); a pollen-specific promoter such as that from Zm13 (Guerrero et al., Mol. Gen. Genetics 244:161-168 (1993)) or a microspore-preferred promoter such as that from apg (Twell et al., Sex. Plant Reprod. 6:217-224 (1993)).

Transport of protein produced by transgenes to a subcellular compartment such as the chloroplast, vacuole, peroxisome, glyoxysome, cell wall or mitochondrion or for secretion into the apoplast, is accomplished by means of operably linking the nucleotide sequence encoding a signal sequence to the 5′ and/or 3′ region of a gene encoding the protein of interest. Targeting sequences at the 5′ and/or 3′ end of the structural gene may determine, during protein synthesis and processing, where the encoded protein is ultimately compartmentalized.

The presence of a signal sequence directs a polypeptide to either an intracellular organelle or subcellular compartment, or for secretion to the apoplast. Many signal sequences are known in the art. See, for example Becker et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 20:49 (1992); P. S. Close, Master's Thesis, Iowa State University (1993); C. Knox et al., “Structure and Organization of Two Divergent Alpha-Amylase Genes from Barley,” Plant Mol. Biol. 9:3-17 (1987); Lerner et al., Plant Physiol. 91:124-129 (1989); Fontes et al., Plant Cell 3:483-496 (1991); Matsuoka et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 88:834 (1991); Gould et al., J. Cell. Biol. 108:1657 (1989); Creissen et al., Plant J. 2:129 (1991); Kalderon, et al., A short amino acid sequence able to specify nuclear location, Cell 39:499-509 (1984); Steifel, et al., Expression of a maize cell wall hydroxyproline-rich glycoprotein gene in early leaf and root vascular differentiation, Plant Cell 2:785-793 (1990).

Foreign Protein Genes and Agronomic Genes

With transgenic plants according to the present invention, a foreign protein can be produced in commercial quantities. Thus, techniques for the selection and propagation of transformed plants, which are well understood in the art, yield a plurality of transgenic plants which are harvested in a conventional manner, and a foreign protein then can be extracted from a tissue of interest or from total biomass. Protein extraction from plant biomass can be accomplished by known methods which are discussed, for example, by Heney and Orr, Anal. Biochem. 114:92-6 (1981).

According to a particular embodiment, the transgenic plant provided for commercial production of foreign protein is a sunflower plant. In another preferred embodiment, the biomass of interest is seed. For the relatively small number of transgenic plants that show higher levels of expression, a genetic map can be generated, primarily via conventional RFLP, PCR and SSR analysis, which identifies the approximate chromosomal location of the integrated DNA molecule. For exemplary methodologies in this regard, see Glick and Thompson, Methods in Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, CRC Press, Boca Raton 269:284 (1993). Map information concerning chromosomal location is useful for proprietary protection of a subject transgenic plant. If unauthorized propagation is undertaken and crosses made with other germplasm, the map of the integration region can be compared to similar maps for suspect plants, to determine if the latter have a common parentage with the subject plant. Map comparisons would involve hybridizations, RFLP, PCR, SSR and sequencing, all of which are conventional techniques.

Likewise, by means of the present invention, agronomic genes can be expressed in transformed plants. More particularly, plants can be genetically engineered to express various phenotypes of agronomic interest. Exemplary genes implicated in this regard include, but are not limited to, those categorized below:

1. Genes That Confer Resistance to Pests or Disease and That Encode:

A. Plant disease resistance genes. Plant defenses are often activated by specific interaction between the product of a disease resistance gene (R) in the plant and the product of a corresponding avirulence (Avr) gene in the pathogen. A plant variety can be transformed with cloned resistance genes to engineer plants that are resistant to specific pathogen strains. See, for example, Jones et al., Science 266:789 (1994) (cloning of the tomato Cf-9 gene for resistance to Cladosporium fulvum); Martin et al., Science 262:1432 (1993) (tomato Pto gene for resistance to Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato encodes a protein kinase); Mindrinos et al., Cell 78:1089 (1994) (Arabidopsis RSP2 gene for resistance to Pseudomonas syringae).

B. A gene conferring resistance to a pest, such as soybean cyst nematode. See e.g., PCT Application WO 96/30517; PCT Application WO 93/19181.

C. A Bacillus thuringiensis protein, a derivative thereof or a synthetic polypeptide modeled thereon. See, for example, Geiser et al., Gene 48:109 (1986), who disclose the cloning and nucleotide sequence of a Bt δ-endotoxin gene. Moreover, DNA molecules encoding δ-endotoxin genes can be purchased from American Type Culture Collection, Manassas, Va., for example, under ATCC Accession Nos. 40098, 67136, 31995 and 31998.

D. A lectin. See, for example, the disclosure by Van Damme et al., Plant Molec. Biol. 24:25 (1994), who disclose the nucleotide sequences of several Clivia miniata mannose-binding lectin genes.

E. A vitamin-binding protein such as avidin. See PCT application US93/06487. The application teaches the use of avidin and avidin homologues as larvicides against insect pests.

F. An enzyme inhibitor, for example, a protease or proteinase inhibitor or an amylase inhibitor. See, for example, Abe et al., J. Biol. Chem. 262:16793 (1987) (nucleotide sequence of rice cysteine proteinase inhibitor); Huub et al., Plant Molec. Biol. 21:985 (1993) (nucleotide sequence of cDNA encoding tobacco proteinase inhibitor I); Sumitani et al., Biosci. Biotech. Biochem. 57:1243 (1993) (nucleotide sequence of Streptomyces nitrosporeus α-amylase inhibitor); and U.S. Pat. No. 5,494,813 (Hepher and Atkinson, issued Feb. 27, 1996).

G. An insect-specific hormone or pheromone such as an ecdysteroid or juvenile hormone, a variant thereof, a mimetic based thereon, or an antagonist or agonist thereof. See, for example, the disclosure by Hammock et al., Nature 344:458 (1990), of baculovirus expression of cloned juvenile hormone esterase, an inactivator of juvenile hormone.

H. An insect-specific peptide or neuropeptide which, upon expression, disrupts the physiology of the affected pest. For example, see the disclosures of Regan, J. Biol. Chem. 269:9 (1994) (expression cloning yields DNA coding for insect diuretic hormone receptor); and Pratt et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 163:1243 (1989) (an allostatin is identified in Diploptera puntata). See also U.S. Pat. No. 5,266,317 to Tomalski et al., who disclose genes encoding insect-specific, paralytic neurotoxins.

I. An insect-specific venom produced in nature by a snake, a wasp, etc. For example, see Pang et al., Gene 116:165 (1992), for disclosure of heterologous expression in plants of a gene coding for a scorpion insectotoxic peptide.

J. An enzyme responsible for a hyperaccumulation of a monoterpene, a sesquiterpene, a steroid, hydroxamic acid, a phenylpropanoid derivative or another non-protein molecule with insecticidal activity.

K. An enzyme involved in the modification, including the post-translational modification, of a biologically active molecule; for example, a glycolytic enzyme, a proteolytic enzyme, a lipolytic enzyme, a nuclease, a cyclase, a transaminase, an esterase, a hydrolase, a phosphatase, a kinase, a phosphorylase, a polymerase, an elastase, a chitinase and a glucanase, whether natural or synthetic. See PCT application WO 93/02197 in the name of Scott et al., which discloses the nucleotide sequence of a callase gene. DNA molecules which contain chitinase-encoding sequences can be obtained, for example, from the ATCC under Accession Nos. 39637 and 67152. See also Kramer et al., Insect Biochem. Molec. Biol. 23:691 (1993), who teach the nucleotide sequence of a cDNA encoding tobacco hornworm chitinase; and Kawalleck et al., Plant Molec. Biol. 21:673 (1993), who provide the nucleotide sequence of the parsley ubi4-2 polyubiquitin gene.

L. A molecule that stimulates signal transduction. For example, see the disclosure by Botella et al., Plant Molec. Biol. 24:757 (1994), of nucleotide sequences for mung bean calmodulin cDNA clones; and Griess et al., Plant Physiol. 104:1467 (1994), who provide the nucleotide sequence of a maize calmodulin cDNA clone.

M. A hydrophobic moment peptide. See PCT application WO 95/16776 (disclosure of peptide derivatives of Tachyplesin which inhibit fungal plant pathogens) and PCT application WO 95/18855 (teaches synthetic antimicrobial peptides that confer disease resistance).

N. A membrane permease, a channel former or a channel blocker. For example, see the disclosure of Jaynes et al., Plant Sci. 89:43 (1993), of heterologous expression of a cecropin-β, lytic peptide analog to render transgenic tobacco plants resistant to Pseudomonas solanacearum.

O. A viral-invasive protein or a complex toxin derived therefrom. For example, the accumulation of viral coat proteins in transformed plant cells imparts resistance to viral infection and/or disease development effected by the virus from which the coat protein gene is derived, as well as by related viruses. See Beachy et al., Ann. rev. Phytopathol. 28:451 (1990). Coat protein-mediated resistance has been conferred upon transformed plants against alfalfa mosaic virus, cucumber mosaic virus, tobacco streak virus, potato virus X, potato virus Y, tobacco etch virus, tobacco rattle virus and tobacco mosaic virus. Id.

P. An insect-specific antibody or an immunotoxin derived therefrom. Thus, an antibody targeted to a critical metabolic function in the insect gut would inactivate an affected enzyme, killing the insect. Cf. Taylor et al., Abstract #497, Seventh Int'l Symposium on Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions (Edinburgh, Scotland) (1994) (enzymatic inactivation in transgenic tobacco via production of single-chain antibody fragments).

Q. A virus-specific antibody. See, for example, Tavladoraki et al., Nature 366:469 (1993), who show that transgenic plants expressing recombinant antibody genes are protected from virus attack.

R. A developmental-arrestive protein produced in nature by a pathogen or a parasite. Thus, fungal endo α-1,4-D-polygalacturonases facilitate fungal colonization and plant nutrient release by solubilizing plant cell wall homo-α-1,4-D-galacturonase. See Lamb et al., Bio/Technology 10:1436 (1992). The cloning and characterization of a gene which encodes a bean endopolygalacturonase-inhibiting protein is described by Toubart et al., Plant J. 2:367 (1992).

S. A developmental-arrestive protein produced in nature by a plant. For example, Logemann et al., Bio/Technology 10:305 (1992), have shown that transgenic plants expressing the barley ribosome-inactivating gene have an increased resistance to fungal disease.

2. Genes That Confer Resistance to an Herbicide:

A. An herbicide that inhibits the growing point or meristem, such as an imidazolinone or a sulfonylurea. Exemplary genes in this category code for mutant ALS and AHAS enzyme as described, for example, by Lee et al., EMBO J. 7:1241 (1988); and Mild et al., Theor. Appl. Genet. 80:449 (1990), respectively.

B. Glyphosate (resistance conferred by, e.g., mutant 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPs) genes (via the introduction of recombinant nucleic acids and/or various forms of in vivo mutagenesis of native EPSPs genes), aroA genes and glyphosate acetyl transferase (GAT) genes, respectively), other phosphono compounds such as glufosinate (phosphinothricin acetyl transferase (PAT) genes from Streptomyces species, including Streptomyces hygroscopicus and Streptomyces viridichromogenes), and pyridinoxy or phenoxy proprionic acids and cyclohexones (ACCase inhibitor-encoding genes), See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,835 to Shah, et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 6,248,876 to Barry et al., which disclose nucleotide sequences of forms of EPSPs which can confer glyphosate resistance to a plant. A DNA molecule encoding a mutant aroA gene can be obtained under ATCC accession number 39256, and the nucleotide sequence of the mutant gene is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,769,061 to Comai. European patent application No. 0 333 033 to Kumada et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,975,374 to Goodman et al., disclose nucleotide sequences of glutamine synthetase genes which confer resistance to herbicides such as L-phosphinothricin. The nucleotide sequence of a PAT gene is provided in European application No. 0 242 246 to Leemans et al., DeGreef et al., Bio/Technology 7:61 (1989), describe the production of transgenic plants that express chimeric bar genes coding for PAT activity. Exemplary of genes conferring resistance to phenoxy proprionic acids and cyclohexones, such as sethoxydim and haloxyfop are the Acc1-S1, Acc1-S2 and Acc1-S3 genes described by Marshall et al., Theor. Appl. Genet. 83:435 (1992). GAT genes capable of conferring glyphosate resistance are described in WO 2005012515 to Castle et al. Genes conferring resistance to 2,4-D, fop and pyridyloxy auxin herbicides are described in WO 2005107437 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/587,893, both assigned to Dow AgroSciences LLC.

C. An herbicide that inhibits photosynthesis, such as a triazine (psbA and gs+ genes) or a benzonitrile (nitrilase gene). Przibila et al., Plant Cell 3:169 (1991), describe the transformation of Chlamydomonas with plasmids encoding mutant psbA genes. Nucleotide sequences for nitrilase genes are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,648 to Stalker, and DNA molecules containing these genes are available under ATCC Accession Nos. 53435, 67441, and 67442. Cloning and expression of DNA coding for a glutathione S-transferase is described by Hayes et al., Biochem. J. 285:173 (1992).

3. Genes that Confer or Contribute to a Value-Added Trait, Such as:

A. Modified fatty acid metabolism, for example, by transforming a plant with an antisense gene of stearyl-ACP desaturase to increase stearic acid content of the plant. See Knultzon et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 89:2624 (1992).

B. Decreased phytate content—1) Introduction of a phytase-encoding gene would enhance breakdown of phytate, adding more free phosphate to the transformed plant. For example, see Van Hartingsveldt et al., Gene 127:87 (1993), for a disclosure of the nucleotide sequence of an Aspergillus niger phytase gene. 2) A gene could be introduced that reduced phytate content. In maize for example, this could be accomplished by cloning and then reintroducing DNA associated with the single allele which is responsible for maize mutants characterized by low levels of phytic acid. See Raboy et al., Maydica 35:383 (1990).

C. Modified carbohydrate composition effected, for example, by transforming plants with a gene coding for an enzyme that alters the branching pattern of starch. See Shiroza et al., J. Bacteriol. 170:810 (1988) (nucleotide sequence of Streptococcus mutants fructosyltransferase gene); Steinmetz et al., Mol. Gen. Genet. 20:220 (1985) (nucleotide sequence of Bacillus subtilis levansucrase gene); Pen et al., Bio/Technology 10:292 (1992) (production of transgenic plants that express Bacillus lichenifonnis α-amylase); Elliot et al., Plant Molec. Biol. 21:515 (1993) (nucleotide sequences of tomato invertase genes); Sogaard et al., J. Biol. Chem. 268:22480 (1993) (site-directed mutagenesis of barley α-amylase gene); and Fisher et al., Plant Physiol. 102:1045 (1993) (maize endosperm starch branching enzyme II).

Methods for Sunflower Transformation

Numerous methods for plant transformation have been developed including biological and physical plant transformation protocols. See, for example, Mild et al., “Procedures for Introducing Foreign DNA into Plants” in Methods in Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, B. R. Glick and J. E. Thompson, Eds. (CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton, 1993) pages 67-88. In addition, expression vectors and in vitro culture methods for plant cell or tissue transformation and regeneration of plants are available. See, for example, Gruber et al., “Vectors for Plant Transformation” in Methods in Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, B. R. Glick and J. E. Thompson, Eds. (CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton, 1993) pages 89-119.

A. Agrobacterium-mediated Transformation—One method for introducing an expression vector into plants is based on the natural transformation system of Agrobacterium. See, for example, Horsch et al., Science 227:1229 (1985). A. tumefaciens and A. rhizogenes are plant pathogenic soil bacteria which genetically transform plant cells. The Ti and Ri plasmids of A. tumefaciens and A. rhizogenes, respectively, carry genes responsible for genetic transformation of the plant. See, for example, C. I. Kado, Crit. Rev. Plant Sci. 10:1 (1991). Descriptions of Agrobacterium vector systems and methods for Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer are provided by Gruber et al., supra, Mild et al., supra, and Moloney et al., Plant Cell Reports 8:238 (1989). See also, U.S. Pat. No. 5,563,055 (Townsend and Thomas), issued Oct. 8, 1996.

B. Direct Gene Transfer—Several methods of plant transformation, collectively referred to as direct gene transfer, have been developed as an alternative to Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. A generally applicable method of plant transformation is microprojectile-mediated transformation wherein DNA is carried on the surface of microprojectiles measuring 1 to 4 μm. The expression vector is introduced into plant tissues with a biolistic device that accelerates the microprojectiles to speeds of 300 to 600 m/s which is sufficient to penetrate plant cell walls and membranes. Sanford et al., Part. Sci. Technol. 5:27 (1987); J. C. Sanford, Trends Biotech. 6:299 (1988); Klein et al., Bio/Technology 6:559-563 (1988); J. C. Sanford, Physiol. Plant 7:206 (1990); Klein et al., Biotechnology 10:268 (1992). See also U.S. Pat. No. 5,015,580 (Christou, et al.), issued May 14, 1991; U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,783 (Tomes, et al.), issued Jun. 21, 1994.

Another method for physical delivery of DNA to plants is sonication of target cells. Zhang et al., Bio/Technology 9:996 (1991). Alternatively, liposome and spheroplast fusion have been used to introduce expression vectors into plants. Deshayes et al., EMBO. J., 4:2731 (1985); Christou et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 84:3962 (1987). Direct uptake of DNA into protoplasts using CaCl₂ precipitation, polyvinyl alcohol or poly-L-ornithine has also been reported. Hain et al., Mol. Gen. Genet. 199:161 (1985); and Draper et al., Plant Cell Physiol. 23:451 (1982). Electroporation of protoplasts and whole cells and tissues have also been described. Donn et al., In Abstracts of VIIth International Congress on Plant Cell and Tissue Culture IAPTC, A2-38, p 53 (1990); D'Halluin et al., Plant Cell 4:1495-1505 (1992); and Spencer et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 24:51-61 (1994).

Following transformation of sunflower target tissues, expression of the above-described selectable marker genes allows for preferential selection of transformed cells, tissues and/or plants, using regeneration and selection methods now well known in the art.

The foregoing methods for transformation would typically be used for producing a transgenic variety. The transgenic variety could then be crossed, with another (non-transformed or transformed) variety, in order to produce a new transgenic variety. Alternatively, a genetic trait which has been engineered into a particular sunflower cultivar using the foregoing transformation techniques could be moved into another cultivar using traditional backcrossing techniques that are well known in the plant breeding arts. For example, a backcrossing approach could be used to move an engineered trait from a public, non-elite variety into an elite variety, or from a variety containing a foreign gene in its genome into a variety or varieties which do not contain that gene. As used herein, “crossing” can refer to a simple X by Y cross, or the process of backcrossing, depending on the context.

Tissue Culture of Sunflowers

Further production of the 503A/B cultivar can occur by self-pollination or by tissue culture and regeneration. Tissue culture of various tissues of sunflower and regeneration of plants therefrom is known. Further reproduction of the variety can occur by tissue culture and regeneration. Tissue culture of various tissues of soybeans and regeneration of plants therefrom is well known and widely published. For example, reference may be had to T. Komatsuda et al., “Genotype X Sucrose Interactions for Somatic Embryogenesis in Soybeans,” Crop Sci. 31:333-337 (1991); P. A. Stephens et al., “Agronomic Evaluation of Tissue-Culture-Derived Soybean Plants,” Theor. Appl. Genet. (1991) 82:633-635; T. Komatsuda et al., “Maturation and Germination of Somatic Embryos as Affected by Sucrose and Plant Growth Regulators in Soybeans Glycine gracilis Skvortz and Glycine max (L.) Merr.” Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture, 28:103-113 (1992); S. Dhir et al., “Regeneration of Fertile Plants from Protoplasts of Soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.); Genotypic Differences in Culture Response,” Plant Cell Reports (1992) 11:285-289; P. Pandey et al., “Plant Regeneration from Leaf and Hypocotyl Explants of Glycine-wightii (W. and A.) VERDC. var. longicauda,” Japan J. Breed. 42:1-5 (1992); and K. Shetty et al., “Stimulation of In Vitro Shoot Organogenesis in Glycine max (Merrill.) by Allantoin and Amides,” Plant Science 81:245-251 (1992). The disclosures of U.S. Pat. No. 5,024,944 issued Jun. 18, 1991 to Collins et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,008,200 issued Apr. 16, 1991 to Ranch et al., are hereby incorporated herein in their entirety by reference. Thus, another aspect of this invention is to provide cells which upon growth and differentiation produce sunflower plants having the physiological and morphological characteristics of sunflower variety 503A/B.

As used herein, the term “tissue culture” indicates a composition comprising isolated cells of the same or a different type or a collection of such cells organized into parts of a plant. Exemplary types of tissue cultures are protoplasts, calli, plant clumps, and plant cells that can generate tissue culture that are intact in plants or parts of plants, such as embryos, pollen, flowers, seeds, pods, leaves, stems, roots, root tips, anthers, and the like. Means for preparing and maintaining plant tissue culture are well known in the art. By way of example, a tissue culture comprising organs has been used to produce regenerated plants. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,959,185, 5,973,234 and 5,977,445, describe certain techniques, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Single-Gene Converted (Conversion) Plants

When the term “sunflower plant” is used in the context of the present invention, this also includes any single gene conversions of that variety. The term “single gene converted plant” as used herein refers to those sunflower plants which are developed by a plant breeding technique called backcrossing, or via genetic engineering, wherein essentially all of the desired morphological and physiological characteristics of a variety are recovered in addition to the single gene transferred into the variety via the backcrossing technique. Backcrossing methods can be used with the present invention to improve or introduce a characteristic into the variety. The term “backcrossing” as used herein refers to the repeated crossing of a hybrid progeny back to the recurrent parent, i.e., backcrossing 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or more times to the recurrent parent. The parental sunflower plant which contributes the gene for the desired characteristic is termed the “nonrecurrent” or “donor parent.” This terminology refers to the fact that the nonrecurrent parent is used one time in the backcross protocol and therefore does not recur. The parental sunflower plant to which the gene or genes from the nonrecurrent parent are transferred is known as the recurrent parent as it is used for several rounds in the backcrossing protocol (Poehlman & Sleper, 1994; Fehr, 1987). In a typical backcross protocol, the original variety of interest (recurrent parent) is crossed to a second variety (nonrecurrent parent) that carries the single gene of interest to be transferred. The resulting progeny from this cross are then crossed again to the recurrent parent and the process is repeated until a sunflower plant is obtained wherein essentially all of the desired morphological and physiological characteristics of the recurrent parent are recovered in the converted plant, in addition to the single transferred gene from the nonrecurrent parent.

The selection of a suitable recurrent parent is an important step for a successful backcrossing procedure. The goal of a backcross protocol is to alter or substitute a single trait or characteristic in the original variety. To accomplish this, a single gene of the recurrent variety is modified or substituted with the desired gene from the nonrecurrent parent, while retaining essentially all of the rest of the desired genetic, and therefore the desired physiological and morphological, constitution of the original variety. The choice of the particular nonrecurrent parent will depend on the purpose of the backcross. One of the major purposes is to add some commercially desirable, agronomically important trait to the plant. The exact backcrossing protocol will depend on the characteristic or trait being altered to determine an appropriate testing protocol. Although backcrossing methods are simplified when the characteristic being transferred is a dominant allele, a recessive allele may also be transferred. In this instance it may be necessary to introduce a test of the progeny to determine if the desired characteristic has been successfully transferred.

Many single gene traits have been identified that are not regularly selected for in the development of a new variety but that can be improved by backcrossing techniques. Single gene traits may or may not be transgenic, examples of these traits include but are not limited to, male sterility, waxy starch, herbicide resistance, resistance for bacterial, fungal, or viral disease, insect resistance, male fertility, enhanced nutritional quality, industrial usage, yield stability and yield enhancement. These genes are generally inherited through the nucleus. Several of these single gene traits are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,959,185, 5,973,234 and 5,977,445, the disclosures of which are specifically hereby incorporated by reference.

This invention also is directed to methods for producing a sunflower plant by crossing a first parent sunflower plant with a second parent sunflower plant wherein the first or second parent sunflower plant is a sunflower plant of the variety 503A/B. Further, both first and second parent sunflower plants can come from the sunflower variety 503A/B. Thus, any such methods using the sunflower variety 503A/B are part of this invention: selfing, backcrosses, hybrid production, crosses to populations, and the like. All plants produced using sunflower variety 503A/B as a parent are within the scope of this invention, including those developed from varieties derived from sunflower variety 503A/B. Advantageously, the sunflower variety could be used in crosses with other, different, sunflower plants to produce first generation (F₁) sunflower hybrid seeds and plants with superior characteristics. The variety of the invention can also be used for transformation where exogenous genes are introduced and expressed by the variety of the invention. Genetic variants created either through traditional breeding methods using variety 503A/B or through transformation of 503A/B by any of a number of protocols known to those of skill in the art are intended to be within the scope of this invention.

The invention is also directed to Sunflower meal from seeds of an elite sunflower variety.

Oxidative Stability

Stability can be defined as the resistance of a vegetable oil to oxidation and to the resulting deterioration due to the generation of products causing rancidity and decreasing food quality. Tests for oxidative stability attempt to accelerate the normal oxidation process to yield results that can be translated into quality parameters for different food ails and to predict their shelf lives. Stability methods are also useful to evaluate antioxidants and their effects on protection of foods against lipid oxidation.

Lipid oxidation in food products develops slowly initially, and then accelerates at later stages during storage. The induction period is defined as the time to reach a constant percent oxidation of the fat as related to the end of shelf life. The induction period is measured either as the time required for a sudden change in rate of oxidation, or by estimating the intersection point between the initial and final rates of oxidation. For vegetable oils containing linoleic and linolenic acid, such as soybean and sunflower oils, the end-points for acceptability will occur at relatively low levels of oxidation (peroxide values between 1 and 10 Meq/kg).

Factors Affecting Oxidative Stability

The difference in stability between different vegetable oils is due to their different fatty acid profiles, the effect of processing, initial levels of oxidation at the start of the storage period, and other factors including, minor components, including the presence of metal impurities, formulation, packaging and environmental storage conditions. From the crude stage to different stages of processing of vegetable oils, some oxidation can take place that will affect the subsequent oxidative stability of the final oil product during storage.

Oxidative Stability Methods

To estimate the oxidative stability of a fat to oxidation, the sample is subjected to an accelerated oxidation test under standardized conditions and a suitable end-point is chosen to determine the level of oxidative deterioration. Methods involving elevated temperatures include:

1. Schaal Oven Test

The sample is heated at 50 to 60° C. until it reaches a suitable end-point based on peroxide value or carbonyl value such as the anisidine value. The results of this test correlate best with actual shelf life because the peroxide value end-point of 10 represents a relatively low degree of oxidation. See, limiting peroxide value in section D below.

2. Active Oxygen Method (AOM), Rancimat and Oxidation Stability Index (OSI). See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,339,294 to Matlock et al., AOCS Method 12b-92; and M. W. Laubli and P. A. Bruttel, JOACS 63:792-795 (1986).

Air is bubbled through a sample of oil in special test tubes heated at 98-100° C. and the progress of oxidation is followed by peroxide value determination in the AOM test, and by conductivity measurements in the Rancimat and OSI tests. The automated Rancimat and OSI tests may be run at temperatures ranging from 100-140° C., and the effluent gases are led through a vessel containing deionized water and the increase in conductivity measured are due to the formation of volatile organic acids (mainly formic acid) by thermal oxidation. The OSI is defined as the time point in hours of maximum change of the rate of oxidation based on conductivity.

D. Methods to Determine Oxidation—The peroxide value of oils is a measure of oxidation that is useful for samples that are oxidized to relatively low levels (peroxide values of less than 50), and under conditions sufficiently mild so that the hydroperoxides, which are the primary products formed by oxidation, are not markedly decomposed. A limiting peroxide value of 10 meq/kg was specified for refined oils by FAQ/WHO standards (Joint FAQ/WHO Food Standard Program Codex Alimentarius Commission, Report of 16th session of Committee on Fats and Oils, London, 1999).

The anisidine test measures high molecular weight saturated and unsaturated carbonyl compounds in oils. The test provides useful information on non-volatile carbonyl compounds formed in oils during processing of oils containing linolenate. The Totox value (anisidine value+2 times peroxide value) is used as an empirical measure of the precursor non-volatile carbonyl compounds present in processed oils plus any further oxidation products developed after storage.

DEPOSIT INFORMATION

A deposit of the Dow AgroSciences proprietary sunflower cultivar 503A/B disclosed above and recited in the appended claims has been made with the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), 10801 University Boulevard, Manassas, Va. 20110. The date of deposit was May 29, 2009. The deposit of 2500 seeds were taken from the same deposit maintained by Dow AgroSciences LLC since prior to the filing date of this application. All restrictions upon the deposit have been removed, and the deposit is intended to meet all of the requirements of 37 C.F.R. Sections 1.801-1.809. The ATCC accession number is PTA-10098. The deposit will be maintained in the depository for a period of 30 years, or 5 years after the last request, or for the effective life of the patent, whichever is longer, and will be replaced as necessary during that period.

While a number of exemplary aspects and embodiments have been discussed above, those of skill in the art will recognize certain modifications, permutations, additions and sub-combinations thereof. It is therefore intended that the following appended claims and claims hereafter introduced are interpreted to include all such modifications, permutations, additions and sub-combinations as are within their true spirit and scope.

All references, including publications, patents, and patent applications, cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each reference were individually and specifically indicated to be incorporated by reference and were set forth in its entirety herein. The references discussed herein are provided solely for their disclosure prior to the filing date of the present application. Nothing herein is to be construed as an admission that the inventors are not entitled to antedate such disclosure by virtue of prior invention. 

1. A seed of sunflower inbred line designated 503A/B, representative seed of said line having been deposited under ATCC Accession No. PTA-10098.
 2. A sunflower plant, or part thereof, produced by growing the seed of claim
 1. 3. Pollen of the plant of claim
 2. 4. An ovule of the plant of claim
 2. 5. A sunflower plant, or parts thereof, having all of the physiological and morphological characteristics of the sunflower plant of claim
 2. 6. A tissue culture of regenerable cells from the sunflower plant of claim
 2. 7. The tissue culture according to claim 6, wherein a cell or protoplast of the tissue culture is derived from a plant part selected from the group consisting of leaves, pollen, embryos, roots, root tips, anthers, flowers, and stalks.
 8. A sunflower plant regenerated from the tissue culture of claim 6, wherein the regenerated plant has all the morphological and physiological characteristics of inbred line 503A/B, representative seed of said line 503A/B having been deposited under ATCC Accession No. PTA-10098.
 9. A sunflower plant with all of the physiological and morphological characteristics of inbred line 503A/B, wherein said sunflower plant is produced by a tissue culture process using the sunflower plant of claim 5 as the starting material for said process.
 10. A method for producing a hybrid sunflower seed, wherein said method comprises crossing a first inbred parent sunflower plant with a second inbred parent sunflower plant and harvesting the resultant hybrid sunflower seed, wherein said first inbred parent sunflower plant or said second inbred parent sunflower plant is the sunflower plant of claim
 2. 11. A method for producing a male-sterile sunflower plant comprising transforming the sunflower plant of claim 2 with a nucleic acid molecule that confers male sterility.
 12. A male sterile sunflower plant produced by the method of claim
 11. 13. A method of producing an herbicide resistant sunflower plant comprising transforming the sunflower plant of claim 2 with a transgene that confers herbicide resistance.
 14. An herbicide resistant sunflower plant produced by the method of claim
 13. 15. The sunflower plant of claim 14, wherein the transgene confers resistance to an herbicide selected from the group consisting of, imidazolinone, sulfonylurea, glyphosate, glufosinate, L-phosphinothricin, triazine and benzonitrile.
 16. The sunflower plant of claim 14, wherein the transgene confers resistance to the herbicide imidazolinone.
 17. A method of producing a disease resistant sunflower plant comprising transforming the sunflower plant of claim 2 with a transgene that confers disease resistance.
 18. A disease resistant sunflower plant produced by the method of claim
 17. 19. A method of introducing a desired trait into sunflower inbred line 503A/B, wherein the method comprises: (a) crossing 503A/B plants grown from 503A/B seed representative seed of which has been deposited under ATCC Accession No. PTA-10098, with plants of another sunflower line that comprise a desired trait to produce progeny plants, wherein the desired trait is selected from the group consisting of male sterility, herbicide resistance, insect resistance, disease resistance and oil content; (b) selecting progeny plants that have the desired trait to produce selected progeny plants; (c) crossing the selected progeny plants with the 503A/B plants to produce backcross progeny plants; (d) selecting for backcross progeny plants that have the desired trait and physiological and morphological characteristics of sunflower inbred line 503A/B to produce selected backcross progeny plants; and (e) repeating steps (c) and (d) three more times in succession to produce selected fourth or higher backcross progeny plants that comprise the desired trait and all of the physiological and morphological characteristics of sunflower inbred line 503A/B listed in Table
 1. 20. A plant produced by the method of claim 19, wherein the plant has the desired trait and all of the physiological and morphological characteristics of sunflower inbred line 503A/B listed in Table
 1. 21. The plant of claim 20, wherein the desired trait is male sterility and the trait conferred by the cytoplasmic nucleic acid molecule that confers male sterility.
 22. The plant of claim 20, wherein the desired trait is herbicide resistance to an herbicide selected from the group consisting of, imidazolinone, sulfonylurea, glyphosate, glufosinate, L-phosphinothricin, triazine and benzonitrile.
 23. The plant of claim 20, wherein the desired trait is herbicide resistance to imidazolinone. 